Many devices today utilize some form of wireless data communication. While a variety of different types of wireless data communication exist, radio frequency (RF) communication is pervasive. Examples of RF communication include cellular networks (e.g., for cell phones), Wi-Fi®, broadcast television, global positioning system (GPS) navigation, and so forth.
RF data communication can be particularly useful to facilitate inter-device communication. For instance, a wireless input/output (I/O) device (e.g., a mouse, a touchpad, a keyboard, and so on) can communicate with a computer utilizing various forms of RF communication. This can enable a user to provide input to a computer independent of a wired connection between an input device and the computer.
In utilizing RF communication for battery powered devices (e.g., a wireless mouse, a wireless keyboard, and so on), power management is a prominent consideration. For example, longer effective battery charge life can be realized by reducing the amount of power utilized for RF communication. Certain RF communication protocols, however, can be power-intensive. Thus, reducing power usage when employing such protocols presents a number of challenges.